Hooray for Day Light Savings Time!

With all the snow yesterday, and the change in time to Day Light Savings Time, getting to church was difficult today. There is one good thing and one bad thing about the spring snows here. The good thing is that the snow is real fine flakes, very light, so shoveling is not difficult at all. The bad thing is that the snow is real fine flakes, very light, so it blows everywhere. When you shovel, even the slightest breeze tends to blow the snow back into your face. I like the good thing about it.

So do these guys. The YM here are in charge of shoveling walkways before church. We did the back doors first, where most of the members arrive, and the front walks later, mostly for emergency egress. The drifts today were about 4 feet high, but... (see the good thing above).
The YW and the YM are learning to lead music. The Ward Chorister comes in every week to teach a little, and people get a chance to practice.

Even these two clowns get to show off their abilities. Layton and Dustin were clowning around, and got caught by the Chorister. She invited them up because Layton was leading with 2 hands, and it turned into, "you control volume, and I'll control which side of the room sings." It really was a fun time for all the youth and the leaders too.

Jenny, on the right, and her cousin, Magdalena, who recently moved to a First Nations settlement close to here called Janvier (pronounced Jan-vee-AYE). Her mother teaches school there.

The YW and leaders today.

After church, we tried out a new place to take photos, and the sun came out in a big way. It was not a good day to have left shades at home in the early morning.

Alan making rolls for an upcoming Reliefs Society Dinner and Social function. It was to be a birthday dinner, but it has turned into a despedida for the old RS pres, who is moving with her husband to British Columbia to help care for his father who recently suffered a stroke.

This is a test. Can you find any differences between the garden last November (see pic below) and today?

I can see one, there is a small tip of a plant showing in this picture that has not been completely inundated by snow yet.

And another one, If you were to walk into the garden today, your boots would not get muddy.


El Guapo del jardin, y sus hijos chistosos.

Happy Birthday Michelle! (IM)

Happy Birthday Michelle. Today is a great day to celebrate with you. Outside the temperature is hovering right around -20, but in the house the love and goodness are hovering right around fantastic.




One of many friends stop by to wish the birthday girl much happiness and love on her special day. The snow, more than 8 inches so far today, did not deter friends from stopping by or calling.


Some of the Young Women from the Ward sent best wishes too.



The balloons are from the YW, and the flowers are from some of the General Foremen that work for Alan. They wanted to thank her for letting him work with them.



Samuel helps prepare the birthday dinner. Beef Stroganoff, glazed carrots, an apple-avocado salad, and fresh french bread. only one thing should be better than that...



GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE!!

This is the 20th year with the traditional birthday cake for Michelle. All the children have asked for the cake too, but only one person receives the festive treat, my beautiful bride. This is her favorite cake.
Legend has it that one time, as a little girl, Michelle was sent by her mother to the local bakery to buy rolls for dinner, and she returned with a German chocolate cake. It was her mother's favorite cake too, but that did not deter a swat on the rump, and not a birthday swat either.

The finished product. This is really a simple recipe, but one that gets rave reviews every year. It is quite simply delicious, and better with a scoop of a great vanilla bean ice cream on the side.




Ready for the celebration dinner.


Wishing for another year of blessings and happiness.





Samuel shows off some of the shopping bags that Nettie sent from Germany. They arrived today, so we had to go to the store to try them out.


Samuel shows off his present for his mother before she got them.



The balloons and banner from the YW.



Ashley sent a really cool table runner from Guatemala in her mother's favorite color combination, pink and orange. It looks so good on this pottery, and it goes well with the rug from Mexico in the living room, the table will have to get along without the decoration.




Happy Birthday Darlin'.


I love you.

Ye Olde Valentine's Day Celebration

Argh Matey's!

Tis the season for the lasses and the lads to cut loose and raise a toast of affection for the fairest in the land. Tis the Day celebrated for ye olde saint of the forlorn and the forscorn (not to mention the forsaken and the afore-taken), Aye, tis of dear olde Saint Valentine we speak, Bless me soul and shiver me timbers.

Fix ye peepers on this bevy of lasses, lost in the winds of the wild, wild, north seas, who, blinded by affections on lads and mates alike, while away the hours of mutual to render notes of promises summoned on the season.

( the YW leaders and girls prepare valentines to give "Heart Attacks" to ward members)


The booty mounts in the ships stores and the lasses sing shanties of hope for the lads.

( Young women always make little gift bags look good, and they can sing on-tune to any number or style of song imaginable)


Aye, ye eyes do not deceive ye olde bones, Tiz many of the same lasses as last week, gossipin' as regular wenches, o' them scurvy lads.

(the YW always talk about the boys, when they are not talking about boys.)









Tiz off on the frozen wind to spread the cheer o' the season and treasures amongst the land lubbers, the keel-hauled, and them what the Kraken left behind.



( the YW are off to deliver the beautiful little valentines wishes and packages of candies at the doors of members in our Ward.)


And what o' the lads ye inquire? Aye, ye ought to know the scallywags dared to match wits with the lasses at the games o' love.


(the Young Men also prepared valentines wishes for the Young Women to be delivered in the morning on Valentine's Day.)


Hear ye! Hear ye! Let it be known amoungst one and all that tiz a lad herein that pineth for a lass.


(this YM has a special valentine for one of the YW)


Argh! The mates have jumped ship, like scurvy rats they be, and run amuck in the tundra, plastering recruitment posters on doorways of weigh stations and boarding establishments.


(the YM "heart attacked" each house of the YW in the Ward)


Abandon Ship Boys! One o' the crew rang the ships bell announcin' to the other crew the arrival o' the booty fer the lass o' the manor.

(ding-dong ditching is not as easy on snow and ice as it looks in the movies.)



Aye maties, at the 10 o' clock hour, another knave, seen here surrounded by lasses, was pressed into service fer the realm.

(Kayden, here with two of his sisters, was baptized on Saturday. After the end of the "heart attacking" we went to the service, and the spirit there was remarkable!)

New Beginnings

Our Ward Young Women's Leaders at New Beginnings on February 8, 2009.
Barb, Wendy, Michelle, and Sheila.

Our Young Women: Jennie, Selina, Shelby, Bailey, Dayna, Jezzy, Cinda (our advisor), and Jessica. These are all outstanding girls, and it was amazing to see them talk about their experiences and plans.


Each of the girls received a plaque with the Young Women's and Young Men's Mutual Theme for 2009. Wendy made all the plaques for the girls.
Jessica and Wendy.

January 2009

Most of this post is a duplicate of the One Year post. No telling what happened, why it did not post until now, but oh well.

Joseph coming home from Biathlon practice. There are two upcoming meets, and we will post results as they become available, unless the meets are cancelled due to cold weather (anything below -20 degrees C without wind chill).

Samuel coming home from a day on the hill. He and a couple of friends spent 11 hours on the ski hill here. Joseph asked Samuel about tricks, and he admitted to doing "a quarter-barrel-roll." For those of you who are unfamiliar with the technical terms of snow boarding, a 1/4 barrel roll is equivalent to a crash. Ask your young men about this: "technically I landed in the seated position." It is worth a chuckle or two.

On Saturday, January 31, we attended the local Robbie Burns Day celebration (wikipedia learning opportunity). There was Highland dancing, and Irish dancing (similar to River Dance, but in smaller groups). Jezzy did the Sailor Dance. She is considered by many to be the best dancer in town, and has competed in dance competitions all over the province.

The Stay-Puft marshmallow boy.

How teenagers react when being hugged by a precocious child. Holly was dancing in the festivities, and afterward she shared some of her enthusiasm with Joseph and Samuel.

Jezzy, Shauna, Jayden, and Holly. All the girls danced and Shauna, her husband and Sheila (not pictured) joined us for dinner, which included Irish stew, potatoes, turnips, rolls, mixed vegetables, and the center of attention for the evening - HAGIS! - piped in and toasted in proper fashion with bagpipes, drums and the traditional Gaelic blessing for a prosperous new year. We won't mention the warm pudding. Remember, this is a Scottish and Irish celebration, meaning that the after dinner coffee served matched the pudding, Irish.
The crew in the family photo spot.

One Year

The Lord of the Trash. In the winter time, you have to cover your trash with a blanket to keep the ravens (crows, or rats with wings) from chowing down on the tell-tale black plastic bags. Here, Joseph strikes a pose for all who aspire to become kings of their domain.

A good day boarding is just like a good day playing golf. It sure beats any kind of day working. After nearly 10 hours on the slopes, Sam still is ready for more (tomorrow maybe). He was moving slow for a couple of days afterward.

Like I said, a good day... Joseph upon his triumphant return from a Nordic skiing race. He did a 5 km course, and had a local skiing coach tell him that he could get free personal lessons to clean up some small technique errors that will help him go much much faster. We are supposed to go to a biathlon race next week, if the weather improves a bit.

Lass Saturday night, we went to a Celtic Ceileigh (a local rendition of Robbie Burns Day). The Scottish Highland Dancer on the left is one of the YW in our ward. There were also 2 primary girls dancing. There were pipers (bag pipers), Irish Dancers, plenty of Scotch wiskey (which seemed to be the main reason for the party), and of course, a bit of hagis. It was piped in properly and a great toast was offered for the hagis and all who partook. We all did. It is, to my taste buds, akin to liverwurst meatloaf. Joseph did not enjoy it at all, and I think Samuel just barely tolerated it. Other dishes for the supper included Irish Stew, potatoes, and turnips. I saw several people I know from around town, and we all had a good laugh or two. If you are interested, Simpson is a part of the Highland Fraser Clan.

Joseph really knows how to treat a lady to a good time. Holly really had fun with Joseph and Samuel. At one point she managed to get $15 out of Joseph's wallet. She was half the fun for the evening.

The cat and the monkey.

"Who you gonna call? -Ghost busters!" Remind you of the stay-puft marshmallow man?

Jezzy and Holly are in our ward. Jezzy is considered by many in town to be the best Highland Dancer in Fort Mac. She is a very nice girl, and love to dance. She has also been learning to be chorister in our ward, leading hymn for 2 Sundays so far.

Holly not tripping-up the older crowd. The MC, in the kilt,

Here is the one year shot. As soon as i find the original pic taken at this spot, we will post a series of photos throughout the last year. It has been difficult at times, and exhilarating at others, but I think we are in the right place doing the right things.